{"product_id":"just-happy-to-be-here-isbn-9780063216570","title":"Just Happy to Be Here","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eIn this YA standalone perfect for fans of Tobly McSmith and Meredith Russo, the first out trans girl at an all-girls school must choose between keeping her head down or blazing a trail.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTara just wants to be treated like any other girl at Ainsley Academy.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThat is, judged on her merits—not on her transness. But there’s no road map for being the first trans girl at an all-girls school. And when she tries to join the Sibyls, an old-fashioned Ainsley sisterhood complete with code names and special privileges, she’s thrust into the center of a larger argument about what girlhood means and whether the club should exist at all.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBeing the figurehead of a movement isn’t something Tara’s interested in. She’d rather read old speeches and hang out with the Sibyls who are on her side—especially Felicity, a new friend she thinks could turn into something more. Then the club’s sponsor, a famous alumna, attacks her in the media and turns the selection process into a spectacle.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTara’s always found comfort in the power of other peoples’ words. But when it comes time to fight for herself, will she be able to find her own voice?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eAll-Girls School Setting:\u003c\/b\u003e Tara just wants to fit in at Ainsley Academy, but being the first trans girl on campus makes keeping a low profile impossible.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eSecret Society:\u003c\/b\u003e When she tries to join the Sibyls, a sisterhood with ancient rituals and code names, she finds herself at the center of a debate on what it truly means to be a girl.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eSapphic First Love:\u003c\/b\u003e Amidst the drama, Tara finds a potential ally—and maybe something more—in Felicity, a fellow Sibyl who sees her for who she is.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eFinding Your Voice:\u003c\/b\u003e After a powerful alumna attacks her in the media, Tara must draw on her love of powerful words to stand up and speak her own truth.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e | \u003cp\u003ePraise for \u003cem\u003eWe Are Totally Normal\u003c\/em\u003e:  \"A touching novel about all the confusions and intensities of high school, from sexuality to peer pressure... The novel deftly negotiates the complexities of teenage friendships and relationships with insight and compassion.\" - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eTeen Vogue\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"\u003cem\u003eWe Are Totally Normal\u003c\/em\u003e downplays its literary sensibility with lighthearted humor and smart, bantering dialog. This book is a great choice for readers interested in LGBTQ+ and QPOC romance and post-Millennial coming-of-age stories.\" - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003ethem.us\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"With its fast, dialogue-driven pacing, humor, and finger on the youthful pulse, this book will find an eager audience in queer and questioning teens, especially those of color.\" - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Real and tangible and full of heart in all its messy contradictions, \u003cem\u003eJust Happy to Be Here \u003c\/em\u003eand its protagonist Tara are both affirming and challenging all at once. This book is as beautiful and moving as it is overdue.\" - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eElle Grenier\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Both funny and heartbreaking, Just Happy to be Here is exactly the story the world needs right now.\" - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eJonathan Lenore Kastin, contributor to Transmogrify: 14 Fantastical Tales of Trans Magic\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Tara is an unforgettable heroine -- sweetly vulnerable, heartbreakingly hopeful, smarter than she thinks, stronger than she knows -- and Kanakia tells her story with a sharp, unsentimental intelligence that's rare and refreshing.\" - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eJames Frankie Thomas, author of Idlewild\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Naomi Kanakia’s Just Happy to Be Here is the messy, nuanced, big-hearted YA novel that we’ve all been waiting for. Told with compassion and unflinching honesty, Kanakia’s writing never shies away from the hard questions or takes the easy road out. With a fresh, earnest voice and a cast of astonishingly realistic characters, this book not only makes room for the harsh complexities of being a trans girl in our increasingly transphobic society—it sits with them, tenderly and without reproach. This much-needed addition to the pantheon of trans YA literature will be sure to connect with readers of all kinds.\" - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eMichael Gray Bulla, author of If I Can Give You That\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Kanakia's razor-sharp candor, insight, and nuance make her one of YA's most fascinating and relevant authors.\u003cem\u003e Just Happy to Be Here\u003c\/em\u003e is an absolute and necessary game-changer.\" - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eDahlia Adler, author of Cool for the Summer\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"A perfect book for anyone learning that there is not always a beating heart in government, schools, or awards, but there can be in the friendships of teenage girls resisting social pressure to perform, assimilate, and make concessions to power.\" - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eHal Schrieve, author of How to Get Over the End of the World\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Timely, bold, and engrossing, \u003cem\u003eJust Happy to Be Here\u003c\/em\u003e balances sharp social commentary, giddy romance, and a truthful coming of age story for all readers. Naomi Kanakia says exactly what so many of us need to hear.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eCamryn Garrett, author of Friday I'm in Love\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Messy, raw, heartfelt, and deeply humane. \u003cem\u003eJust Happy to Be Here\u003c\/em\u003e is a triumph.\" - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eRob Costello, contributing editor of We Mostly Come Out at Night: 15 Queer Tales of Monsters, Angels and Other Creatures\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“The story thoughtfully explores the desire for acceptance, the difficulty of living under laws targeting trans youth, and the tension of seeking access to an oppressive system, rather than sacrificing your own well-being to fight it.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"A staggering achievement. Naomi Kanakia sweeps aside decades of cliché and sanctimony to weave a compelling, suspenseful, and sweetly romantic coming-of-age tale.\"  - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003ePeyton Thomas, award-winning author of Both Sides Now\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Critical in the erudite sense, brave beyond lip service, and devoted to undoing the distortions of those who, even well-meaningly, erase or obscure our abundant reality—the future is with Kanakia, and what she stands for here.\" - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eLio Min, author of Beating Heart Baby\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"HarperCollins","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44890561741029,"sku":"NP9780063216570","price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780063216570.jpg?v=1730233579","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/just-happy-to-be-here-isbn-9780063216570","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}